“I guess this is it,” I said. I gulped hard to stop the tears.
“Claire, I still consider you my friend.”
I felt the anger boil up. “How can you say that?” I headed for the door.
“Claire.”
I turned back to her.
“Please,” she begged. “Get some help.”
I nodded once, then carried the box out of the office. I closed the door gently behind me and stood a moment in the hall to pull myself together. I didn’t want the front-office staff to see me crying as I left, but the tears came anyway.
I had lost my reputation within my hometown. I had lost my friendship with Fire Chief Wallis. I had lost my job. But, I thought, at least I still had Matt. I wiped my tears with one hand and headed out the door.
ELEVEN
When I arrived at my apartment, Matt’s truck was parked in front. He had let himself in with the key I had given him. The key to my apartment was a commitment of sorts. We weren’t just dating anymore. He was my boyfriend now.
He opened the door to greet me. “I heard about what happened at the school,” he said. “Chief Wallis phoned to say you were banned from school property. He was worried about you.”
“Did you also hear I lost my job?”
“Oh, Claire, I’m so sorry.” Matt wrapped his arms around me. He was a head and shoulders taller than me. In that moment I felt protected, and I sobbed in his arms.
“That school is going to explode, and no one believes me!”
Matt stepped back to hold my shoulders. “Claire, you can hardly fault the cops. You’ve given them nothing to go on except a hunch.”
“You don’t believe me either.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.” I pushed past him into my apartment. Mom was there, sitting at the kitchen table. She stood when I came into the room. “Finally!” she said. “Maybe now you can tell me what’s going on.”
“I didn’t think it was my place to tell her,” Matt said. “But I thought you’d want her here.”
I nodded. He was right. I needed to talk to Mom, and not just for her emotional support.
“Have you ever seen into the future?” I asked her.
Mom sat back down, her expression changing to concern. “No. I’m a remote viewer. I only see things as they are happening, in the present. What’s going on?”
“I dreamed the school exploded.” I decided against telling her that in the dream I died. “Mom, it was so real. Then there really was a bomb scare at the school this morning.”
“They found a bomb?”
Matt shook his head. “Some kid made a bomb threat. I’m sure Claire picked up on the event. That’s what her dream was about.”
“No,” I said to him. “There’s more to it.” I turned back to Mom. “Just after the assembly at the school, I had a vision. I saw a pipe bomb go off in the furnace room. The cops checked. There was nothing there.”
“So you believe what you saw will happen, in the future.”
“I’m sure of it.” I sat down at the table with Mom. “I just don’t know when. And I don’t know what to do about it. I embarrassed the fire chief. Officer Banks won’t listen to me.”
Mom sighed. “He’s stopped listening to me as well,” she said. “Not that I blame him.” Mom looked up at Matt. “What I see in my visions really is what’s happening, you know,” she said. “The thing is, by the time your search-and-rescue team gets there, the lost hiker has moved on. Or the body of the girl who drowned has already been swept downriver.”
“So what do I do?” I asked her. “I know a bomb will blow up that school. I just don’t know when.”
“Do you have any idea who the bomber is?” Mom asked.
“The janitor’s son, Tyler, has lunch in the furnace room. And he’s into model rockets, so he has the knowledge and materials to make a pipe bomb.”
“Well, there you go. You just need to watch that kid.”
“It could also be the kid who admitted to making the bomb threat at lunchtime. Spider ran into me just before I had that vision. But then several other kids bumped into me as they left the gym.”
“Think carefully,” Mom said. “Who touched you immediately before you had that vision?”
“Well, like I said, Spider slammed into me. Tyler took my elbow to steady me. And just before that Ashley brushed by.”
“Ashley?”
“She’s the girl who first told Jim and me that Tyler made the bomb threat.” I paused, thinking back on the day’s events. “Oh my god,” I said. “It never occurred to me that Ashley could be the bomber.”
“Because she’s a girl?” Matt asked.
“Yes, that’s part of it,” I said. “I just assumed the bomb threat was made by a boy. And Ashley looks like one of those girls who has money and friends. Tyler is a loner who just lost his mom, and he is into rockets.” I looked up. “But then, so is Ashley. Matt, Ashley knows all about mixing the rocket-fuel chemicals into gunpowder. She knows how to make it into an explosive. And she knows how to connect that explosive to an igniter and timer. She learned how to do that for rockets in class, just like Tyler.”
“I imagine everyone in her science class knows how.”
“Yes, but she was quick to put the blame on Tyler. Maybe too quick, like she was trying to hide the fact that she made the bomb threat. She was also watching the cops and sniffer dogs from the fire trucks, far closer to the school than the other kids. And she watched them with almost too much interest. I think she’s our bomber.”
“But you don’t have proof,” Matt said.
“No, but we’ve got to make sure she never sets that bomb.”
Matt shook his head in disbelief. “You’re talking about catching a criminal before she’s committed a crime. This is nuts, Claire.”
“Maybe, but what if I’m right?”
“She was right about Amber Miller,” Mom said. “Claire caught her kidnapper.”
“And I caught the arsonist, Trevor. I stopped him from setting more fires.”
Matt looked annoyed with me. “After you dated him.”
“I know I’ve made mistakes. I’m not always sure what my visions are telling me. But Matt, if I don’t stop Ashley, I know she will blow up that school.”
“How many young lives might be lost?” Mom asked him.
Matt studied my face for a moment, then nodded. “Okay, so how are we going to stop the bomber?”
“You believe me?”
“I believe in you,” he said. “If you believe this strongly in your vision, then I’ll do whatever I can to help you.” He pulled me back into his arms. “But we can’t stand guard in front of the furnace room night and day. You’re not even allowed on school property.”
“That’s why I need to get the janitor involved.”
“Dean?” Matt asked.
I nodded. My dream had spelled it out. “I need the janitor’s help.”
“What can he do?”
“I’ll show you,” I said. I took Matt’s hand. “Come on. I’ve got to pick up something in town. Then we’ll head back to the school.”
“You aren’t allowed on the school grounds.”
“But you are,” I said.
TWELVE
I waited just outside the school grounds while Matt went inside the school. Classes were over for the day, and the kids were waiting outside for their buses to arrive. Within a few minutes Matt strode back toward me, with Dean following behind.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Dean said when he reached me. “You’ve been banned. I have to report you if I see you here.”
“I know, and I know you have no reason to trust me.” I glanced at Matt, hoping his support would get Dean on side. “But we need your help.”
“Tyler is no bomber. He’s a good kid.”
“I believe you.”
“You do?”
“I have reason to believe someone else may be planning to plant a bomb in the furnace room. I’m su
re you would do everything you could to save the kids in this school.”
“Of course.”
“Does the school have surveillance cameras to watch for break-ins?”
“Yes, but just on the outside doors.”
“So there is no camera in the basement.”
Dean shook his head. “And if the bomber wanted to get away with it, he would have to plant the bomb during the day. The motion detectors in the school will sound the alarm at night.”
I nodded. “We need a set of eyes on the furnace room.” From my bag, I pulled out the two small web cameras I had just bought at the electronics store. “Can you install these cameras, one just outside the furnace room and one inside? They’re wireless. I can pick up the camera images on my smartphone. That way I can stop the bomber.”
“And have proof that what you’ve been telling everyone is for real,” Matt said.
I nodded. I would have evidence to take to Officer Banks, to Chief Wallis and to my editor. “Dean, you’ll have to make sure the cameras are hidden, maybe under a light fixture. And you understand you can’t tell Tyler about them. We can’t tell anyone about these cameras. If we do, word could spread. Principal Sloan would undoubtedly put an end to this plan.”
“Or the real bomber might remove the cameras.” Dean sighed. “I get it.”
He did seem to understand. I just hoped my trust in him wasn’t misplaced. He still might report me to the principal.
I turned to Matt. “We’ll have to take turns watching around the clock. You’ll have to keep an eye on my phone when I grab a nap.”
Matt nodded. “I’m up for it.”
“I’ll have to stay at your place until all this plays out,” I said. “Your house is only minutes from the school.”
Matt grinned. “I can live with that.”
“But what if you really did dream of the future?” Dean asked me. “My wife dreamed about her own death. There was nothing we could do to stop it from happening. What if we can’t stop this bomb from going off?”
“I have to believe there is a reason why I had that nightmare and that vision,” I said. “We have to stop this from happening.” If I couldn’t, so many lives would be lost, my own among them.
THIRTEEN
I woke in the morning to a gentle push on my shoulder. “Hey, sleepyhead.”
“Matt,” I said, looking up into his rugged face. I sat up, still feeling groggy. “What time is it?” I had tossed and turned all night.
“Just about nine.”
“Nine?” I glanced at the bright light streaming through the window. “You were supposed to wake me in the night so you could get some sleep.”
“After the day you had yesterday, I figured you needed the rest more than I did.”
“You stayed up all night?”
“Someone had to keep an eye on that bomber.” He handed me my smartphone. “Nothing to report. All clear in the furnace room.”
“I’m so sorry, Matt. How are you going to get your work done?”
He pushed my curls away from my face. “I’ll be fine. I can catch a nap in my office if I need to.” He patted my leg. “I’ve got to get going. There’s a plate of eggs and toast on the table.”
He kissed me, and I grew shy. I wasn’t used to having a man take care of me this way. “I don’t know how to thank you, for everything,” I said. “For believing in me.”
He grinned. “I’m sure you’ll think of something. Later?”
“Later.”
I watched him leave the room and heard the front door close behind him. Then I got out of bed and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt.
Breakfast was waiting on the kitchen table as Matt promised. I held the coffee cup in my hands as I watched the image on my cell phone. Matt was right. Nothing to report. Just an empty furnace room with the light left on. I checked the other web camera. All I saw was an empty hallway and closed furnace-room door. I was grateful, but I almost wished the bomber would act. The waiting was unbearable.
Then, all at once, my wait was over. Oh my god! I thought. The bomber was Tyler after all! I saw him approach the furnace room. He unlocked the door with his father’s set of keys and went inside. I switched the view to the inside camera and watched as he went over to the table. He picked up both his lunch kit and his father’s, then left the room, locking the door behind him.
I sat back in my chair and breathed a sigh of relief. Tyler was only spending his free block with his dad in the cafeteria. Dean had agreed to eat there and keep the furnace room locked until the bomber had been caught.
The minutes ticked by. I had more coffee, cleaned up after breakfast, then checked the time on my cell phone. It was just about ten.
I flipped the view back to the camera facing the furnace-room door. There was a figure at the door, someone wearing a black hoodie with the hood up. Was it Ashley, or was it Spider? This kid was dressed like Spider, all in black.
The person turned to look down the hall, and I finally saw her face. Ashley! She jimmied the furnace-room door open. She had broken in!
“Shit.” As I rushed to the car, I flipped my cell screen to the camera image from inside the furnace room. Ashley pulled an object from a duffel bag. A pipe bomb.
I hit Matt’s name on my contact list as I started the car. He picked up the call after two rings. “Matt, Ashley is the bomber! She’s in the furnace room right now. I’m on my way over, but once I get there I’m not sure the staff will listen to me. I know the cops won’t.”
“Okay, hang on. I’ll be right there. Have you phoned Dean?”
“Not yet.” Of course, Dean. In my panic, my first thought had been to phone Matt. I hung up and dialed the janitor’s number. But his phone went to voice mail.
“Damn it.”
I flipped back to the image from the furnace-room camera. Sure enough, Dean’s cell phone was sitting on the table. He’d forgotten to take it with him at this of all times. Ashley was still in the furnace room, setting up the bomb. I was only five minutes from the school, but that might be five minutes too long. I had to get the principal to stop her.
As I pulled out of the apartment parking lot, I dialed the school. The receptionist picked up. “Black Lake High School.”
“There’s a bomb,” I said as I drove. “In the furnace room. Ashley is in there right now setting up a pipe bomb. I’m on my way, but you’ve got to stop her.”
“Who is this?”
I hesitated. “Claire Abbott. I work for the newspaper.” Or at least I did. “Please, tell the principal and phone the cops.”
“You’ve been banned from school property for just this kind of behavior,” she said.
“I know. But there really is a bomb. I’m not making this up.”
“That’s what you said last time.” She hung up.
“Shit!” I threw the phone on the seat and pressed the gas pedal to the floor.
FOURTEEN
I brought the car to a halt right in front of the main school entrance and ran for the door. But Principal Sloan was there waiting for me, barring the way. She was dressed in a pink pantsuit, but she still managed to look intimidating.
“You’ve been told to stay off school property,” she said.
“You’ve got to evacuate the kids, now!”
“The police are on their way.”
“Good,” I said. “But they may be too late. We’ve got to stop Ashley now.”
“Ashley?” she said. “I called the cops to deal with you.”
“We put cameras in the furnace room. She’s in the basement right now, setting a bomb.”
“You did what?”
“I had to. It was the only way. There’s no time to explain.” I tried to push past her, but she grabbed my arm. “Let me go!” I said. “I’ve got to stop that bomb from going off!”
I struggled out of her grip and rushed through the school door. I found myself alone in the school hallway. The kids were in their classes. The doors to the rooms were closed.
“Claire.”
I swung around and found Dean, the janitor, there in the hall with me.
“We need to get to the furnace room now.” I held up my smartphone. “It was Ashley. I saw her set that bomb.”
As the principal reached us she said to Dean, “Help me get Claire out of here before the kids hear her.”
Dean looked from the principal to me and back again. “No,” he said. “We’ve got to get down to the furnace room, now.”
He pulled out his keys as he ran down the stairs to the basement. As I followed, I heard the wail of a police car heading our way. The principal trailed behind us.
As soon as the janitor opened the furnace-room door, I ran to the corner of the room. There I found the bomb exactly where I had seen it in my vision. To my horror, I also saw we had less than ten seconds before the bomb went off. “We’re out of time!” I cried.
In my vision I had turned and fled at this moment. If I hadn’t run, there may have been enough time to disarm the bomb. I made a split-second decision. Instead of fleeing, I crouched down beside the bomb. The digital timer rigged to the bomb ticked out the last few seconds before it was set to blow. Five, four, three, two…
FIFTEEN
I yanked the timer from the bomb. The wires that had run to the igniter dangled from it. I held my breath, convinced the bomb would still go off. But there was no boom, and I was still alive. I let my breath go, relieved.
“You did it!” Dean cried. He took my hand and helped me up. Principal Sloan blinked at me, confused. “How?” she stuttered. “Who?”
“We still need to get out of here,” I said. “This bomb could still go off. You’ve got to evacuate the school. Now.”
She nodded and fled up the stairs with Dean and me right behind her. I heard her voice over the PA system as Dean and I knocked on classroom doors and led kids out the front entrance.
Officer Banks rushed into the parking lot in his police car, siren blaring. Moments later Matt parked immediately behind the police car. Both Matt and the cop ran to the front of the building, where Dean, the principal and I continued to direct students out the door.
Race Against Time Page 4